Either Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks or Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors present challenges

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 17: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors and Team LeBron defends Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Team Giannis during the NBA All-Star game as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center on February 17, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

While the Warriors rest and heal, their NBA Finals opponent is going to come in a bit more winded. That was guaranteed all the more Tuesday night when the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-102 to tie the series at 2-2.

The Warriors fared poorly against both teams this season, and the Bucks and Raptors each will own the home-court advantage based on their superior regular-season records.

Either way, the Warriors and their fans will see a fresh face in the Finals after four straight years of dueling LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But which team would the Warriors actually prefer to face as they aim for their third straight NBA title and fourth in five years? Let’s take a closer look…

The Warriors were 1-1 vs. the Bucks

Nov. 7 at Oakland

Bucks 134, Warriors 111: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and nine rebounds to end the Warriors’ eight-game win streak, but it was his supporting cast that made the difference. Guards Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon scored 26 and 20 points, respectively.

Stephen Curry suffered one of his worst games of the season, scoring just 10 points on 5-for-14 shooting, before leaving with a strained left groin. Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 24 and 17 points, respectively, but each had a minus-28 plus-minus score. The Warriors played without Draymond Green (toe) and Shaun Livingston (foot).

What they said…

“To come in here and play the defending champs and have a win like this … it’s huge for our confidence. I think it sends a message around the league.” — Malcolm Brogdon

Dec. 7 at Milwaukee

Warriors 105, Bucks 95:Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 20 points and combined for eight of the Warriors’ 19 3-point baskets. The Warriors won despite a 3-for-11 shooting effort by Kevin Durant, who scored only 11 points. Draymond Green missed his 11th straight game with a sprained right toe. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and 25 rebounds for Milwaukee, but the Bucks were just 7 for 39 on threes.

What they said…

“Defense hasn’t been that great, so it’s good to finally put together a game where we hold an opponent to a not so great 3-point percentage. That did feel really good, I’m not going to lie.” — Klay Thompson

The Warriors were 0-2 vs. the Raptors

Nov. 29 at Toronto

Raptors 131, Warriors 128, overtime: Kevin Durant lit up Scotiabank Arena for a season-high 51 points but the red-hot Raptors won their seventh straight game to improve to a league-best 19-4 in what was billed as a potential NBA Finals preview.

Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 37 points for Toronto and Pascal Siakam set a career-best with 26 as the Raptors snapped an eight-game losing streak to Golden State. The Warriors played without Stephen Curry, sidelined for the 11th straight game with a left groin injury, and without Draymond Green (toe) in what was their fifth consecutive road loss. Klay Thompson scored 23 for the Warriors and Jonas Jerebko had 20 off the bench.

What they said…

“What a game. An incredible basketball game for the fans to watch. We came up just short.” — Steve Kerr

Dec. 12 at Oakland

Raptors 113, Warriors 93: The Raptors swept the season series despite going without Kawhi Leonard, who sat out with a sore hip, and head coach Nick Nurse, who was attending his mother’s funeral. The Warriors, by contrast to their first meeting, were basically intact. Andre Iguodala sat out but the rest of their key players were available. Kevin Durant scored 30 points, but Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green combined for just 26. The Warriors shot 6 for 26 on threes and had 19 turnovers. Kyle Lowry scored 23 points for the Raptors, who led by 19 at halftime.

What they said…

“It’s a different vibe, a different feeling when you’re on the climb like Toronto is and Milwaukee is, like we were a few years ago. It’s harder (now) to get up for each game. There are certain nights where you can just feel it; you don’t have that energy. It’s not an excuse. It’s just reality.” — Steve Kerr

THE HEADLINERS

(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Bucks’Giannis Antetokounmpo: The “Greek Freak” is a finalist for MVP honors after averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists during the regular season. At 6-foot-11, he is the NBA’s most difficult matchup, a nightmare in the lane or in transition.

But at just 24 years old, he an inconsistent 3-point shooter and the Raptors bottled him up offensively in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, limiting him to 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting, although he did grab 23 rebounds.

(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard: Perhaps the best two-way player in the NBA, Leonard has to carry an enormous load for Toronto. He averaged 26.6 points during the regular season and hiked that number to 32.0 in the postseason, entering Game 4 vs. Milwaukee.

He is a brilliant defender, but he played 52 minutes and left limping after the Raptors’ double-overtime win on Sunday. He would be very motivated to face the Warriors, because of his series-ending ankle injury after a controversial close-out by Zaza Pachulia in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference finals.

THE SUPPORTING CASTS

Bucks: Milwaukee assembled the best record (60-22) in the NBA, thanks to the league’s highest-scoring offense (118.1) and a deep roster. Small forward Khirs Middleton averaged 18.3 points during the regular season and former Stanford star Brook Lopez, the Bucks’ center, erupted for 29 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Point guard Malcolm Brogdon, regarded as the team’s most important player after Antetokounmpo, is back in action after missing the final 13 games of the regular season and first eight of the playoffs due to plantar fasciitis. At 6-foot-5 with a 6-11 wingspan, Brogan is greater defender. He also finished the regular season with the rare 90-50-40 shooting line, having converted 90 percent of his free throws, 50 percent of his field goals and 40 percent of his threes.

Raptors: Toronto has had to lean heavily on Leonard in the posteason because others have not consistently delivered. Point guard Kyle Lowry has been erratic and shooting guard Danny Green, who converted nearly 46 percent from the 3-point arc during the regular season, has dipped to just 35 percent in the playoffs.

Third-year power forward Pascal Siakam, one of the NBA’s most-improved players, has raised his average from 16.9 during the regular season to nearly 20 points per game, but his shooting numbers have declined. And while the Bucks’ reserves combined to average 43.3 points through the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals, the Raptors’ bench provided just 26.0 points per game.

THE COACHES

Mike Budenholzer, Bucks: A 49-year-old native of Holbrook, Arizona and a graduate of Pomona College in California, Budenholzer guided the Bucks to the NBA’s best record in his first season with the franchise. A former 18-year assistant to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Budenholzer was part of four NBA championship seasons.

He then spent five seasons as head coach in Atlanta, leading the Hawks into the playoffs each of the first four years and posting an unprecedented 17-0 record in January 2015. After going 24-58 a year ago, he and the Hawks agreed to part ways. Budenholzer immediately transformed an inconsistent Bucks team into one led the NBA in defense, rebounds well and keeps fouls to a minimum.

Nick Nurse, Raptors: After five seasons as an assistant coach in Toronto, Nurse, 51, replaced Dwane Casey as head coach after the Raptors were swept out of the 2018 playoffs by the Cavaliers. Nurse ran the Raptors’ offense under Casey, helping them become a better passing and 3-point shooting team, and in his debut as a head coach led the team to a 58-24 record.

A career 47-percent 3-point shooter as Northern Iowa, he took the long road to his shot on the sidelines in the NBA. He coached 11 seasons in Europe, mostly in Great Britain, then had stints in the NBA’s G League (then known as the D-League) as head coach of the Iowa Energy and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.